


Company of Wolves

by Albion19



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Kindred Spirits, Secret Relationship, True Love, Wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-02
Updated: 2014-05-02
Packaged: 2018-01-14 07:52:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1258654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Albion19/pseuds/Albion19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His heart under Regina's control the Huntsman and Red begin an illicit love affair, meeting in secret and conspiring to overthrow the queen. Set after the events of the graphic novel "The Shadow of the Queen." Red/Huntsman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Some context:_

_This story is incorporating the canon of the graphic novel Shadow of the Queen. For those who have not read it this is basically the plot:_

_Regina sends Graham to do her dirty work, which he does reluctantly because she has his heart and he must do her bidding. Regina uses a pack of werewolves, Graham's and Red's old pack, to hunt for Snow. Red manages to get Graham's heart away from Regina and realising that he is not her enemy she gives his heart back: cue feelings._

_They work together to find Snow and once they're all reunited Snow notices how close Red and Graham are, bonding over wolfish things,_ _**and calls it true love** _ _. However Graham hands himself back to Regina so that Snow and Red will be safe and the two are parted. However it ends with Snow and Red promising that they will defeat Regina and make sure that Red's Huntsman "knows who his heart truly belongs to."_

_/end context. Now my story is set after this but I kick things off in Storybrooke…_

* * *

The apartment has a view of the sea and forest. She will wake to the sounds and smells of the woods and eat breakfast with a beautiful vantage point of the Atlantic. It's a bittersweet feeling knowing that Graham would have been greeted with the same sights. Though he has been dead for months the apartment still smells of him, something a human would not notice but as soon as she unlocks the door and walks in she is overwhelmed for a moment. He is fading from the diner and the station but here he lingers.

Red steps quietly into the apartment, noting with surprise the number of items that still occupy the place. She had been told that some of his possessions may still be in the apartment but had believed that Mr Gold had removed the bulk of Graham's things. Cardboard boxes rest on the floor and a few are open on a desk, as if someone had started to pack his things away but then lost heart. She wonders who it could have been.

Wherever she looks there is something that brings a painful recollection of him. On a mantelpiece are sports trophies, mostly for soccer and running, awards for his work in law enforcement and other trinkets that were probably there the moment he and everyone else appeared in Storybrooke. She moves slowly towards the desk, inspecting books and vinyl records in a bookcase before moving behind the chair before the desk. In the open boxes are framed pictures and loose photographs. She picks up a picture that depicts a slightly winching Graham standing in front of the Animal Shelter. He is shaking hands with Regina.

Red remembers that occasion, the fund raising event that raised money for belligerent animals. He had saved a dog from being put down, showing a passion that the usually laid back sheriff hardly let slip. She had danced with him, or tried to. Smiling softly she puts the picture down and reaches for the bundle of photos. Most are of Graham in the station or with Regina but there are a few that depict other scenes and people. When she comes to one that shows him standing in front of the B&B she stills and takes a seat. In all the pictures of Graham he had either been stony faced or grimacing a smile but in this one he is doing neither. She has her hand on his arm and she's staring up into his face with a large grin while he laughs down at her. She can barely remember what she said, something salacious no doubt, and Granny had captured the moment.

_We spent almost three decades together but there are only these small moments that we shared. Every day was the same, until Emma came, and in all that time we barely had a moment together…_

She traces her fingers over the picture, a swell of grief rising high and wishes that he was still here. Sighing she takes the picture and slots it into her bag before standing but as she does she notices something beside her foot and bends. A screwed up piece of paper is under the desk and she unravels it carefully, starting to feel circumspect.

"Hope you don't think I'm being nosy," she says to the air, casting a swift glance around before looking down at the crinkled page. Handwriting is scrawled over the page and at first glance is appears to be nonsense, the work of a mad man, but as she flattens the paper against the desk and focuses she realises the importance of what she is reading.

_Woods. Wolf. A white wolf. Hunting. Huntsman! Another life?_ _Is Storybrooke real?_

This question is underlined and Red blinks. Emma had told her, hesitantly, that Graham had remembered his true self before he died. Is this his last testimony? Feeling a strange fragile sense of awe she carries on reading, noting that the abrupt start of his writing finishes into scrawling sentences.

_My heart…how do you live without a heart? I know that it's missing and I should be able to feel so much more. I have these dreams, these visions…I must be mad but it feels real. I think they're not dreams, they're memories. My heart is missing and there is my friend, the wolf. I saw him tonight and I have to find him too. Wolves are important; they mean the truth and…family? Other things come to me, sounds and smells, strange places and names, things I can't stop thinking about. If I just get my heart back all this madness will make sense._

_Rose. Who is Rose?_

Red lifts her head in surprise, blinking down at the page.

"…I'm Rose."

* * *

**_a.n:_ **

_So I plan for this to be multi chapter story, about 9 or 10 chapters, but I probably won't be able to post regularly but I will try. The rest of the story will take place in FTL._


	2. Chapter 2

After a hard winter the snows reluctantly melt to reveal fresh new growth. Winter is not a season that anyone particularly cares for but Red is especially glad to see the back of it. So much blood and death had shadowed her but as new green things started to grow she felt a sense of renewal, a return of hope. But for all the horror that winter wrought it did bring two precious things into her life: Snow White and the Huntsman.

The former was now like a sister to her while the latter...well, he does hold a special place in her heart too. Though he was not a wolf in the sense that she was he was as close to it as any human could be. Snow was a constant, radiant reminder of how important it was to hold onto her humanity while the Huntsman reminded her that having a wild heart that craved freedom was not something to be ashamed of. Since meeting him she was constantly haunted by the fact that while her heart was wholly hers his was enslaved and it made her want to scream.

So concerned with his ongoing plight that she ventured closer and closer to the Queen's palace everyday until one morning, surrounded by a carpet of bluebells and mist, she hid behind a tree and watched as a procession of Regina's knights headed back into the castle. Heart hammering she watched as the Huntsman, who had pride of place at the front, reined his horse to the side and let the other guards ride past him until he was alone. He then slipped off his horse and she gazed on him, breath held in her throat as he began to head into the woods, drawing his bow and arrow, as if he had spotted something to kill.

Obvious in her deep red cloak he moved passed her and she stood, knowing that he would not ignore her on purpose.  _But then I never really knew him without his heart_ , she thought but quickly cast the doubt away as she followed him deeper into the woods. Here the foliage was dark green and dripping, the sun struggling to penetrate but she could clearly see him coming to a sudden stop and turn. He pulled his bow taut, the arrow pointed at her steadily. Red smiled thinly.

"Unless that arrow head is silver you'll be wasting ammunition."

"Good thing, I don't much care for wolf," he lowered the bow and let it fall to the floor as she raced forward quickly with a grin and unable to stop herself she flung her arms around his neck. He smiled softly in return as she embraced him tightly.

"I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again!"

"Well you've certainly been trying your hardest to rectify that," he said, pulling back and stared at her seriously. "Coming here is dangerous. If Regina knew you were so close she'd capture you and then kill you."

Red shook her head, hands gripping his shoulders. "I had to see you. You've sacrificed so much for me and Snow! I couldn't just pretend that I'd never met you."

He smiled and softly touched her cheek. "I've missed you…and Snow," he added quickly and she smiled.

"She's..." Red was about to tell him about the bandit princess when he brushed his fingers over her mouth, silencing her.

"Don't. Whatever you tell me about Snow could get back to the Queen. I don't want to betray her but I have no choice."

Red stared at him sadly. She had been tormenting herself, wondering how he faired. "Have you been treated...humanly?" she asked delicately and he gave her a dead eyed gaze before looking down. Eyes prickling with tears of anger and frustration she gripped the front of his cloak and stared at him intensely. "I promise that we will defeat Regina and you'll be free. I'll do everything I can to see that happen."

He looked back up, sighing. "The one thing I want for you is to stay safe. If you go against Regina you'll be killed and she'll take pleasure in it."

She looked at him shrewdly, surprising him. "Once Snow has her rightful place on the throne, once she has an army and allies then we'll confront Regina. I'd like nothing more than to rip her apart but I know that's foolish. If there's one thing I've learned from my Granny it's always have a plan."

"Your Grandmother sounds...formidable."

"She's had to be," she smiled sadly. She had not seen her grandmother for some time, wanting to keep her safe. Red had plans that she desperately wanted to put into action but she knew that Granny would never agree. The Huntsman cocked his head at her troubled expression.

"Something on your mind?"

"Yes. I have this idea, this plan. Plans for our pack."

He cocks an eyebrow " _Our_  pack? I was cast out," he said lightly but from what little he told her she knew it still hurt him deeply.

"Well if it makes you feel any better we're two outcasts. Even if they rejected me I still have my family: Granny, Snow and you," she said earnestly and he gazed at her, saying nothing. Without his heart she could not tell if her words had any meaning to him but she had to hope.

"From what I've heard the pack is growing less every day. The death of Aidan tore them apart and the only thing that keeps those that remain together is anger."

Red nodded. "I know. What I want is to make the pack complete again but even more than that. I want  _all_  packs to be a family."

He shook his head, bending down to retrieve his bow. "Forming some kind of alliance between the werewolf packs will never happen, not with Regina here."

"It's because of Regina that I think I have a chance. Like you said they're angry and they want revenge but I want to offer them more than that. I want them to fight for their freedom." Her eyes flashed gold in the gloom and he seemed to catch his breath.

"That's your plan? Build an army of werewolves and get them to fight against Regina? You know you shouldn't be telling me this," he said hoarsely.

"She is a tyrant and as long as she is on the throne then she will continue to oppress and torment them and everyone else in this kingdom. Werewolves are feared for a reason but I know that we're capable of much good if they would just accept their humanity," she finished passionately but then a hollowness entered her eyes. "I'm telling you this because if I can give you even the slightest bit of hope then I will...I have taken life, men have died horribly and I can't change that but I can make it my mission to do something good."

He smiled proudly at her. "You'd make a wonderful alpha."

She smiled shyly and looked down, pleased. Her hand was pressed against his chest and she could feel his heart beating, hear it pounding in her ears. She could pick out the sound of his heartbeat in a crowd a mile away now.

"Do you feel anything?"

"A little. I can feel anger, sadness, happiness...but it's faint, diluted. I try, I really try for more but it's like hitting bars," he looked grimly towards the palace, hidden from them but it's glass and steel shadow weighed down everything.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered despondently.

"I have dreams," he said quickly, as if to cheer her. "I remember how strongly I once felt and in dreams I have emotions. I have you."

"Me?" she asked, touched.

"You have to understand that I had never met someone like you, a werewolf but one with compassion but still in touch with the wolf. When I grew up with the pack it was the wolf or nothing and soon I started to despise humans. Myself. As much as I wanted to be like them I wasn't, I felt as a human and I hated myself for it. They cast me out because I had too much heart," he finished dryly, tapping her hand resting on his chest with an odd smile.

Red grasped his hand in hers and stared up into his face. "They were mistaken in denying their human side and wrong for making you shun it and feel ashamed."

She blinked when he cupped her face suddenly. "I wish you had been there."

"I wish you had been with me," she countered, staring into his tormented eyes and felt a great swell of affection and with it Snow's words rang in her mind.

_I know what True Love looks like..._

While his heart was boxed away her heart was feeling enough for two. But love was not something that she could accept readily again, not after Peter. With a wrench she pulled herself out of his embrace.

"What's wrong?" He asked, still holding her hand.

"Nothing. I just promised that I would meet granny. I haven't seen her for awhile and she's expecting me."

"Of course," he said formally and realised her hand. They stood, waiting for the other to part first but neither moved. The air grew warm and thin and Red gripped her cloak in fists until suddenly the Huntsman began to speak in a rush, something that clearly cost him a great deal.

"It's dangerous and I wanted the opposite but I need to see you again. I might not have a heart but I still have some free will and I can't just accept this as my fate. I – I can tell you what the Queen is planning, warn if I can. It will have to be irregular, to avoid suspicion," he inhaled deeply, eyes shining and she grinned at him.

"Yes! Where?" she barked out in relief and moved towards him again, beaming.

"I have a friend, he'll find you and guide you to the place."

"I'll be there, I promise," she breathed and then hugged him again. He held her more tightly and seemed reluctant to let her go but did so when she very softly kissed his cheek. She pulled back and spun around before he could see her face but as she pushed herself to walk away she could hear the racing of his heart and knew that he must have felt something if it was beating as hard as hers.


	3. Chapter 3

As the spring progressed and the woods burst into life they met in secret as much as they could but it was never enough. On misty mornings, before the sun rises she hears a scratch against her door or a howl from miles away and the Huntsman's wolf leads her halfway and then leaves her to find the man on her own. Though to claim any kind of ownership over the white wolf was mistaken, the first time she had seen the animal she had known that he was not some simple beast. He was self-aware, intelligent as any human but visibly no different from the wolves that prowl the mountains.

“He was cursed. At one time he was a werewolf like you but they say a wizard cast a spell over him. He's been like this as long as I can remember. He was the one that found me, as a child.”

They were tracking a rabbit, crouched down behind a thicket. They had hunted together many times now and had fallen into a comfortable symmetry. Her senses were more attuned than his and when she froze or sunk to the floor he was seconds behind her. They made a perfect pair.

“Every time he comes closer and closer. I think one day I'll wake up and I'll be on the floor and _he'll_ be the one in the bed!”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, he's getting domesticated in his old age,” the Huntsman said and in the distance Red could hear an almost indignant huffing noise and smiled. She rose fluidly and turned as the white wolf appeared, a rabbit hanging from his jaws. He dropped it at the Huntsman's feet with an unmistakable air of challenge.

“If only he could talk,” she laughed but then froze when she heard running feet approaching and crouched back down. “People,” she whispered and then inhaled.

“Guards?”

“No, kids,” she kept still, her heart calming and watched as three children appeared with a small pony pulling a cart. Two girls and a boy. They were collecting firewood.

“So he still hasn't come back?” the little boy asked one of the girls who shook her head, clearly upset.

“No but I know he will. He promised...”

“We all know it was the Queen,” the boy said and the oldest girl cast him a swift glare.

“Be quiet Hans. We don't know that.”

“No, Gretel, he's right,” the other girl said. At first Red thought they were all siblings but on closer inspection they were not. Hans and Gretel were but the girl with brown eyes and honey blonde hair was not their kin. Her scent was different.

“How can you be sure?”

“Because she visited my father and the next day he never came home,” she said firmly, gaze serious. “I knew he was lying to me, she got him to do something and now...” she trailed off, looking miserably into the distance.

“I'm sorry Grace. We know how dangerous and evil she is. She almost had us both killed. All for a stupid apple,” Gretel said dryly.

The Huntsman stirred beside Red, watching the youngsters with a frown. The children broke from their huddle and began picking up driftwood, all the while speaking quietly. Red and the Huntsman kept still and silent. If anyone saw them together, if word of their meetings got back to the Queen, there would be a severe punishment in store for both of them.

“My father never told me what he did in the past, only that my mother died because of it but I know that's why she came to see him. If only I could speak to her...” Grace said, gripping a branch.

“Don't even think about it,” Gretel warned, turning on her. “I'm sorry about your father but you still have people who look after you, you still have food and a roof over your head.”

“I know that! I could have starved if it wasn't for them but if it was _your_ papa would you do nothing?” Grace whipped the branch angrily through the air but Gretel stood her ground.

“I'd do something, I'd confront her,” Hans said, chin lifting and his sister rolled her eyes.

“Don't listen to him, he's an idiot.”

“Hey!”

The hunters watched as the children loaded the cart and slowly moved back the way they came, arguing all the while. Once they were out of sight the adults stood.

“Do you have any idea what they were talking about?” Red asked.

“No but I'm going to keep my eye out for that girl. If she approaches the queen...” he fell into a grim silence and Red sighed. That children had to be protected from the woman who should be concerned with their welfare, as queen, was stomach turning. It was not something that would ever sit right with her. Her thoughts turned to Snow, Regina's own step daughter.

“Snow's really upset about the prince,” she said suddenly as they started tracking something else. The Huntsman eyed her swiftly but Red was careful never to give Snow's whereabouts to him.

“Yes, I remember you mentioned that before.”

“Everything seems to be getting to her now. I think she hoped, once the winter passed, that things would be...easier. That she'd be in a better place.”

“It wasn't all bad, she met you,” he said with some feeling and she smiled. “You make quite the pair.”

“Snow White and Rose Red!” she said without thinking; it was something that her Granny recited when she was in a good mood. The Huntsman stopped.

“Rose?”

She paused, cheeks flushing. “That's my real name. When I was thirteen my wolf time started. I had no idea but Granny got this cloak from a wizard and I've been wearing it ever since. I thought it was to protect me from the wolves...” she lost focus before shrugging. “Since then everyone just called me Red.”

“I like Rose.”

“I haven't thought of myself as that for so long. Rose is like a different person, before the wolf...but I don't mind you calling me it,” she smiled coyly.

“Then I think you should stop calling me The Huntsman.”

She froze in shock. “Really? I thought that was your name! Mr the Huntsman.”

He laughed as her dumbfounded expression turned into something teasing. “It's Graham. The wolves just called me _boy_ for the longest time but Graham's the name my parents gave me.”

“Graham...” she tested out his name on her tongue. He had rejected that name, along with any ties to his humanity, but hearing her say it gave him a frisson of pleasure. Smiling they made their way deeper into the woods, the white wolf ghosting their steps.

 

* * *

 

Red knew that she shouldn’t, that being discovered would not only put her in danger but also Graham but there was another latent reason she always anticipated his arrival with a mixture of delight and reluctance. The last time she had felt such a way about a man she had killed him and that love had been sprung from an innocent teenage infatuation but this burgeoning feeling was something else entirely. He knows what she is, accepts it and if she was honest with herself he was the only person aside from her grandmother who had even an inkling of what she had to endure. She had viewed Snow’s words of true love as nothing more than her romantic heart getting the best of her but as every encounter with the man only increases the adoration she felt Red started to accept that maybe her best friend was right and that fills her with a jittery fear.

“Something on your mind?”

They were sitting in the airy kitchen of her small cottage, a place that Graham had helped her find and build. It was secluded, boarding the deep woods and freshwater was nearby. It was also a place they could meet without being discovered, or so she hoped. But that threat was not what made her gaze sullenly into the distance. He was a reticent person by nature and she was anything but so he could tell that something was wrong.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said in a rush and his eyebrows rose. He was dressed head to toe in black leather and she knew he despised it. He was the handsomest man she had ever seen, dressed as the Queen’s knight or not.

“I know and I’ll be fine. She doesn’t suspect anything,” he said soothingly and reached over to brush a lock of her dark hair back. Red smiled weakly.

“I wasn’t talking about the Queen,” she rose to her feet, busying herself with her pack. She was preparing to leave for the next morning. She had managed, after many weeks of effort and rejections, to get the pack leaders to meet, the first werewolf council of its kind. She can see why she had received either silence or angry rebuffs, she was an outcast without a pack of her own but she was dedicated. Failure to form an alliance would see the annihilation of their kind, she was sure.

As she fussed over her cloak Graham stood behind her and she leaned back against him involuntarily. His hands brushed down her arms to lace his callused fingers through hers.

“You won’t hurt me Rose. You have control now and I’m not helpless. I grew up with your kind, surrounded by them, and I’m still standing.”

Red smiled and turned in the circle of his arms. “To think we could have grown up together.”

“I’m glad we didn’t,” he muttered as he bent down to press his face against the side of her neck, his arms pulling her against him. Red grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck as he leaned back up. Her eyes searched his, her gaze lingering until he seemed to get lost in them. Her heart raced, her blood rushing as he leaned down, his eyes on her mouth but she could suddenly see Peter sitting beside her in the falling snow and she stumbled back.

“I’m sorry!” she said, balling her hands convulsively as he tried to control his disappointment, which he did quickly. He smiled softly, shaking his head and his hair shone gold in the light.

“Nothing to apologise for,” he looked toward the door as she stared at him awkwardly, angry at herself for stalling. She had wanted him to kiss her for weeks but every time it had been close she had pushed him away. She was a mess.

“I really love it when you come here,” she injected passionately, going to him. She wanted him to know how she felt, even if she seemed to be pushing him away.  “I know we haven’t known each other that long but you mean a lot to me.”

He smiled and she wondered how much joy was behind it. “I won’t push you, not in a thousand years, but know that whatever happens I’m loyal to you and no one else,” he stared into her eyes intensely, willing her to believe it but they both knew the fallacy to his words. As long as the Queen had his heart he could never truly be anything to Red, not in the way she dreamed. But he wished it and that was enough.

“We’ll get your heart, we’ll free you Graham. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure that happens. Just a little while longer,” she said gently and his gaze grew void of feeling and she felt a shiver go through her. But then he took her hand and kissed her fingers, his stubble prickling her skin gently.

“I’ll see you again soon. Good luck Rose,” he said and she quickly pressed her lips to his cheek as he left and she watched him and the white wolf disappear into the misty forest with an aching heart.

* * *

**_a.n:_ **

_Sorry for the wait! More to come soon hopefully!_

 


	4. Chapter 4

As the kingdom buzzed in shock about the wedding between Prince Charming and Princess Abigail being called off one little girl viewed the scandal with mild indifference. Her father was missing, maybe even in danger and she would not sit back and do nothing until she knew what had happened to him.

The Queens' guards, now received with fear rather than respect, did not see her slip into the palace and if any servants spied her they did not give her a second glance. The palace was full of child workers and she could be no more than a scullery maid. But as her paisley hooded cloak peeked out from behind a plinth Graham sighed and crouched down beside her before she could run.

"What are you doing here?" the mere fact that she could sneak into the palace of a queen who had more enemies than faithful subjects filled him with a confusing mix of hope and fear. One day it could be Red creeping along the hallways but she was not as inconspicuous as one sad little girl.

"I – I want to speak to the Queen," Grace said in a trembling voice. She was scared but very brave. He felt a faint pulse of pitying affection for her.

"I'm afraid she's not receiving visitors today," he said gently but Grace lifted her chin in defiance.

"I came all this way and I'm not leaving until I speak to her."

"Huntsman?" the Queen's brittle voice, an affect he thinks she does to make herself sound older, issued out behind them and he turned. Graham tried to push the girl back behind the plinth but she struggled and ran into the Queen's path. Regina narrowed her eyes at the girl and then recognition entered them. Her gaze flickered with such a strange expression that he thought he was seeing things but for just a moment the Evil Queen's dark eyes flashed with pity.

"Where is my papa?" the blonde girl asked bluntly and Regina's lips curled in amusement. If anyone else had spoken to her in such a manner they would be dragged to the dungeons but it seemed the girl was different.

"Hello Grace, you were just a tiny baby the last time I saw you," Regina said and her voice lost that deep edge, sounding soft and younger. Grace blinked.

"You – you know me?"

"Of course. Your father and I are old friends…and I know that's why you're here," she said and swept forward, her gown swishing back and forth on the flagstones. Graham placed his hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Where is he? Is – is he okay?" she asked in a trembling voice and tears shone in her eyes. Regina leaned down and Graham blinked in shock yet again. He had caught glimmers of pity and genuine sadness before she would yank a sneering mask back over her face like it had never been but now she regarded the girl with compassion.

"He's in Wonderland. I asked him to help me, which I think you know. He helped me save someone very dear to me but he got stuck there. I'm sorry," she said and rose to her full height.

"He said that he would be back in time for tea and – and I waited and  _waited_  but he never came," tears spilled down her cheeks and Graham squeezed her shoulder and before he could react she turned and pressed her face against his chest. The Queen stared at the girl with unguarded sadness.

"He did it for you, remember that. He only wanted the best for you and I promised that if anything happened to him you would be taken care of. You'll want for nothing Grace," she said and then motioned for a guard to escort the crying girl away. Before she left Regina asked who she was living with.

"My neighbours."

"The weavers?"

"Y – yes," Grace sniffed and Regina smiled.

"I shall contact them shortly. I really do need some royal handloomers and the rustic touch can be…charming," she watched as Grace disappeared and Graham stared at the Queen with a look of wary admiration until she cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"That's the first time I've seen you do a genuine thing for someone. Why can't you act like that with everyone?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because I don't make promises to just everyone," she snipped and walked into her chambers, Graham trailing behind. She sat on her fainting couch and plucked a grape from a dish and waved it through the air and he was on alert at once. Her eyes glimmered in a way that told him trouble was imminent.

"May I be excused?" he asked and her lips curled. There was no teasing smile, no spark of lust in her eyes and he felt his muscles easing, not realising how tense he had been. She would not order him to her bed but something else was in the cards.

"You may not. We have a pressing matter to discuss, do we not? A little matter of  _wolves_ ," she stressed the word and Graham stopped breathing. His heart was in box in this very room and that proximity loaned him a depth of feeling he did not possess away from it; so when a spike of dread shot through him he actually felt it. However he kept his face impassive.

"What about them?"

Regina laughed. "Oh Huntsman! You might be half feral but I think the court is rubbing off on you, you dissemble admirably." She rose back up and walked to him, her hips swinging. "I have eyes and ears everywhere, you know that better than anyone and it hasn't failed to reach me about a certain meeting between wolf packs. I thought the death of Anita's successor would send them scurrying to their dens but it appears not."

"It hasn't got anything to do with me," he shrugged as she stopped before him, her hand on his chest over his real heart. She cocked her head with a small smile.

"No but I think we can guess who's behind it, can't we?" her dark eyes drilled into his and his gaze were like two stones, utterly devoid of feeling.

"I don't know," he said stiffly and she issued another laugh that ringed through his ears.

"Please! As if I don't know about your little ventures into the woods with that red girl. I hold your heart Huntsman, nothing is hidden from me," she grinned cruelly but for all her amusement that was a seed of anger in her, a  _jealousy_  and it was that more than anything that filled him with an icy dread. He didn't care what happened to him but he would not put Red in danger.

 _That's what you've been doing for months you selfish idiot._ His self-reproach was awful and bitter. "She's of no concern."

"Oh but she is. She's utterly besotted with you, did you know that? Not that I care but it's pathetic really, she can't have you and you're just wasting your time," she waved her hand at her mirror and with a lurch Graham saw Red's reflection. She was looking into a pool of water, washing her face. A warmth spread through him that reached right down to his bones.

"I gave you my heart back willingly so that you would leave them alone."

"No, I said that I would leave her old pack alone, which I have. You know spending time with her has not been without results. I now know what she plans because of you. That girl needs to be taken down a notch."

"She's not a girl," he snapped before he could stop himself and Regina flashed a sharp smile and stared at Red in the mirror. The sight of her sent a throb of longing through him. He missed her and they had not even been parted that long. Along with that yearning came a sharp jittery panic for her safety.

"She's a beast and one that needs to be tamed. Even a single voice can spark revolution," she said grimly and walked back to him, the mirror going dark. "I want you to go to the meeting and tell them how foolish it is to cross me."

"They won't listen to me," he answered flatly and the Queen nodded.

"But they will listen to her. Once they see how weak she is in the face of  _you_  they'll scatter."

He went stone cold at her implication. So close to his entrapped heart a searing terror flooded through him and he gripped his sword convulsively. "I won't do it, I won't hurt her."

"You will because I'm telling you to, you have no choice," she sighed at the stricken look on his face and seemed to relent. "If it makes you feel any better I'll make you forget until the time is right. That way she won't have a clue and the mission won't be jeopardised."

As she moved for the box containing his heart and he raced her for it but she slammed him back against the wall. Terrified at what he might do Graham struggled as she moved up to him, the box in her hands.

"Please don't do this," he begged and Regina stopped in surprise.

"You really do care for her don't you? If that's the case then I'm saving you from an ugly breakup. You have no future together because you're mine," she reminded him harshly and forced him to look at her. He growled viciously in answer and she knocked him out with a laugh.

* * *

They travelled for days to the secret location where the packs were congregating. Having such an unprecedented number of werewolves in one place was a prime target for attack and so each pack sent out its members to different parts of the land and only a select few, alphas and betas, knew the true whereabouts of the meeting.

As the sun set on the outskirts of the Infinite Forest the small band came to a stop. Red could walk for hours without getting tired by Snow and the dwarves were a different matter. Red peered into the dark depths of the woods with her keen eyes and inhaled. Anyone who ventured into those trees were usually never seen again as they became increasingly lost. Red could probably find her way out using her senses but she had heard that the place was enchanted and even her wolfish abilities could be tricked. Even so for some time now she has felt a weight against her back and it was not abating. She was being watched.

"I'll be back with some firewood," she said as Snow and the dwarves rested. Since Charming had fled from his wedding he and Snow had been parted yet again. Together there was more chance of them being caught. Snow handled the separation with a brave smile. She was not as miserable as she had been now that she knew that her prince truly loved her but she was not happy. Red wished that she could do something to help but her friend's predicament was the same as hers: they could only be with the people they loved once the ruling monarchy was deposed.

Thoughts turning to Graham she paused, nostrils flaring. For a moment she could smell his scent faintly on the air but soon it was replaced by the smell of pine and earth. She rubbed her nose, scolding herself for missing him so much she was imagining his scent when it came again, this time stronger. Red straightened and whipped around when something snapped behind her.

"Snow!"

"You okay? You look spooked," she asked in concern, coming to her side and Red shook her head.

"It's nothing, just this weird forest playing tricks on me," she smiled faintly, not wanting to admit how much it had gotten to her when Snow's eyes widened and she grinned over Red's shoulder.

"Looks like we have a guest."

Red turned and tried not to squeal in happiness. Graham, dressed in his familiar green and brown skins rather than black leather, stopped at the edge of the glade and stared at her. Even though it had only been a week since the last time they had met they stared at each other like it had been years, their eyes soaking in each other's appearance. With a small laugh Snow pushed Red and that triggered her into finally moving. She rushed to him as he dropped his weapons and hugged her tightly as she threw her arms around his neck.

"I knew it was you!" Red breathed and pulled back but he would not let go of her. He ran his hands up and down her sides and then over her face, as if to make sure she was whole before speaking.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. It's dangerous," he explained and Red smiled, titling her head.

"I can take care of myself."

"I know…" he stared deeply into her eyes and that restrained tension between them became so taut that it snapped like a wire when the dwarves noisily appeared. Red and Graham parted and Snow, who had been hugging herself with a happy smile, turned to her friends.

"This is Graham. He's Red's soulmate," she stated matter of fact and Grumpy stared at the face of the approaching werewolf and broke into a seldom seen grin.

"Now I know why they call you red and sister it ain't after that," he tugged on her crimson cloak as she passed, pulling up her hood to hide her burning face from Graham, who was not smiling. In fact he looked deeply troubled and Snow watched him walk after Red thoughtfully.


	5. Chapter 5

Snow watched her best friend and the man who had spared her life sit side by side before the fire and tried to stop smiling. She remembered last winter seeing them together for the first time and the certainty that she was seeing two people destined to be together had hit her instantly. Red called her a romantic and she was but she knew she was right. Sometimes two people got lucky, not everyone meets their true love, and she would make sure that they find happiness together. She owed each other of them a debt of thanks that she could not even convey. She sighed wistfully as Red and Graham slipped under his fur and her red cloak, her thoughts turning to Charming and she prayed that wherever he was that night he was safe.

"Good night you two, sweet dreams," she said in a light suggestive tone as she settled down to sleep and Red lifted her head up with a bemused smile. Snow White was utterly transparent about her hopes for her and Graham's relationship and it amused her greatly, even if it usually resulted in her face glowing red like a sunset.

"She's like an old woman sometimes," Red whispered fondly as she rested her head back down on her pack roll. Her grin faded as she stared into his troubled face. Since appearing he had been silent, which was not unusual, but the feeling that he had something on his mind would not leave her. He often stared around as if unsure why he was there and it puzzled her. She touched her icy fingertips to his cheek and his gaze focused on her.

"Sorry, miles away. I won't be able to go with you to the meeting, if they know I'm here they'll never trust you," he was no longer the huntsman but the Queen's pet and now her shadow tainted everything he touched. Red nodded in agreement.

"I know but I'm glad you came. She won't notice your absence?"

He hesitated before answering. "She thinks I'm hunting in the mountains so I'll have to leave in the morning to bring her game," he turned to stare up at the sky, where a multitude of stars shone like shattered diamonds. Red moved closer to him, pressing her face into the fur around his shoulders and his arm slipped around her waist, pulling her closer.

"When you have your heart back and she is captured, when Snow has her throne, what will you do?" she asked it lightly, her slim fingers plucking at the fur but she stopped when he closed his fingers around hers and she stared into his eyes.

"Before I met you I would have headed into those woods and never come out again," he confessed and the pain in his voice made her throat go tight with unshed tears. When Red first realised that Graham shared Regina's bed she had been crushed but he had been quick to disused her of any doubts and expressed the truth of his imprisonment in the only way he could, in stutters and half finished sentences. His shame had been too great for anything else and they had not discussed his abuse at the hands of the Queen further. It was a shard of rage and agony in her heart every time he left her to go back to the palace.

"But now?" she whispered, her fingers combing through his hair and he smiled gently, reaching across to rub his thumb against her cheek.

"Now I know what my purpose is. Since I was kicked out of the pack I was adrift, I wasn't a wolf but I never fit in with people but I think that's changed now. I didn't think I could be both until I met you and Snow. So if Regina is toppled I want to help you protect wolves, that's all I've ever wanted."

"Good," she smiled, genuinely happy but it was spoiled a little. She looked aside, mouth pursing. "Anything else?"

"Hmm, there might be something else…" he screwed up his face in concentration, trying to remember before he exhaled. "No, nothing," he grinned as she gently slapped his chest and he pulled her against him with a low chuckle before growing serious. "It's just you, it's only ever been you," he confessed softly and he meant it. He had women before, had thought he knew love but even without his heart he knew Red was different and that realisation came with a stab of pain. She deserved someone whole and that was not him, not yet, but he knew she was battling with her own demons.

"Graham I…" she trailed off, wanting desperately to pour out her heart to him but she couldn't. Regina could be no one and he could have a heart but her misgivings and doubts would still remain. She was scared to love him only for it to be taken away and worse by her own actions. She sighed, pushing away her doubts as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Goodnight Rose, I'll be here when you wake up," he said sleepily and she pressed her face against his chest and fell asleep surrounded by the smell of the pines and the sound of his heart beating in her ears.

* * *

As dawn broke over the top of the forest and a chorus of birdsong rose to meet it Red and Graham said goodbye and they parted reluctantly, Red holding back tears of frustration and not knowing why. Snow hugged her in sympathy before they set off for the meeting place.

"I know you're scared, after what happened to Peter, but I promise you that won't happen. You  _are_  in control Red, you won't hurt him."

"I know that, I do but I can't stop the way I feel. I look at him and I want him so much but if I do then it's like I'm inviting something bad to happen. Does that sound crazy?" she asked miserably as Snow took her hands.

"No, of course not. You went through something awful, more than most people could endure but you're strong Red and in time you'll be ready again. I know you think I'm being a busy body but I know you two belong together. Believe me when you have it you don't want to waste a second," she stressed, squeezing her hands and Red gazed at her sadly.

"You'll see Charming again."

"I know, we always find each other…but I miss him," she sighed and they walked onwards, leaving the dwarves at the camp. They were backup if anything went sour. They walked over a grassy mound to look down upon an open field where dark shapes looped through the morning mist.

"Wolves."

"Alphas," Red corrected and steeling herself she made her way down the slope, Snow a few steps behind her. A human at a werewolf gathering would not be taken gracefully but Red wanted her to be there.

As the shapes shifted into human form the field grew denser until it was filled with about thirty men and women. At one time thousands of werewolves roamed the land but they had been hunted nearly to extinction, now only a few packs remained. Red lowered her hood as the alphas stared at her. They were all older than she was and more importantly all belonging to a pack. She was neither an alpha nor even an omega as even they had packs and she knew her presence amongst them was tentative at best. She had to be very careful. A woman with long white hair stepped forward, eyeing her intently and her green eyes flashed gold.

"Why have you called us girl?"

"Yes I got so beyond the point of annoyed that I'm now just curious to see someone with so much determination," a middle aged man with ginger hair said somewhat fondly and Red took that as a good sign.

"I'm relieved and more grateful than I can say that you've all agreed to come. I have a proposition for you," she started and someone scoffed.

_Why should we listen to you?_

The question was not spoken aloud but directed right into her mind. Werewolves were telepathic and Red only had a passing experience of it. She tried to stop herself gasping as a murmuration of agreement sounded in her head and she turned to Snow who looked deeply perplexed.

"Could you speak aloud please? She can't hear us."

"Well that's another reason why we should leave. She brings a human with her," a wrinkled old man said grumpily and his eyes flashed gold in the rising sun.

"Please, just hear me out. You've come all this way, at least give me the benefit of the doubt? I know you have every reason to leave: I'm no leader, I have no pack to speak of and until very recently I didn't even know what I was…but I wouldn't be here now if that wasn't the case."

"You say you have no pack but we know where you are from girl," the white haired woman said and Red swallowed. "Anita's pack brought nothing but shame on us all. We're feared now more than ever and hunted twice as fierce," she said and angry cries of agreement went up.

"After the carnage they wrought over the winter my family has been driven out of two dens!" a man shouted and others voiced similar tales. Red nodded, sharing in their grievance. She lifted her hands for silence.

"I understand and I agree! That's why I'm here but we can't change anything if we don't work together," she stressed and the red haired man narrowed his eyes.

"And what then? We just want to be left in peace. What are human matters to us?"

"Because what's happening now concerns everyone, not just humans. You can hide in your lairs, shut your eyes to the truth but I promise you one day you'll come to the surface and you'll either find the world empty or the enemy at your door. Either way we won't survive."

"What do you propose? They hate and fear us and with good reason."

"We need to show them that we're not to be feared without reason. We will defend ourselves but we should be respected and we have to show them that we are a people worth respecting. We are wolves yes but the heart that beats in your chest is the same as theirs and we need to accept that," Red finished passionately and another muttering buzzed in her head as they confided with each other. The white haired woman gazed at her thoughtfully but she did not look convinced.

"They think we're monsters, human heart or not."

"Then lets prove them wrong."

"How?"

"By caring about the lands we live in and the neighbours we share," Red said but she could tell she was losing some. At the back she saw a few shape shift and melt away back into the forest and her heart sank. However some remained and when she felt Snow brush against her arm she drew strength from that. The exiled princess smiled politely at those gathered and Red thanked the gods that she had years worth of royal training to fall back on.

"My name is Snow White and Regina has usurped my throne and if you agree I'd like your help winning it back. She will hunt you down if you don't join her because she knows what a valuable asset you are. I want to end the suffering she has caused, even if I fail in getting my kingdom back I'll be happy knowing she has been stopped. If I succeed I swear to you that I will outlaw the hunting of wolves and make sure that you have land to roam in undisturbed. Will you help me?"

"Will you fight for the freedom that's ours?" Red added fiercely.

Snow spoke with heartfelt sincerity and Red felt a swell of pride for her friend. She would make a wonderful queen but would her speech be enough to convince them? As the pack leaders conversed together privately Red froze, looking around as a familiar scent reached her but she dismissed it until the other wolves looked up and started to growl. Graham appeared over the ridge and her heart leapt at the sight of him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked but then her blood ran cold as he stared down at the gathering with unmistakable loathing.

"Do you know who I am?" he shouted, standing high above them.

"You were from Anita's pack, the little orphan boy they found wandering the woods. Now the Queen's pet," the old man sneered and Graham grinned.

"That's right and I'm here now on her orders." The cold blood in her veins turned to ice as he caught her eyes and sneered. "Are you really going to listen to this girl? Follow her? Because that's what she wants, one big pack under her control because it's the one thing she lacks."

"What are you saying?" she yelled, heart breaking and Snow gripped her hand, stilling her.

"He's not himself Red. It's Regina's doing," she whispered and Red knew she was right but it still hurt. Graham ignored her and looked at the remaining alphas.

"If you follow this girl, who killed her own mother and destroyed a pack for this human," he motioned to Snow who stared at him sadly. "If you follow this traitor what does that say about you?" he asked and the leaders looked uncertain but a few shook their heads, angry.

"She might be a girl but she's strong, all Lucas women are!" someone shouted proudly and Red wondered briefly if she was family when Graham laughed and drew an arrow from his quiver.

 _It's not him, It's Regina. Oh gods what do I do?_ she thought wildly as he drew back his bow string and the arrow head glinted silver in the sunlight. His smiled again and in that moment he looked more wolfish than any of them.

"Strong? Look how easily she falls to me," he proclaimed and Red was frozen in shock, watching as his hands shook and his face contorted as he tried in vain to take back control. "Run," he managed to breathe before loosening the arrow and pandemonium broke out as the dwarves came crashing over the hill, shouting out Snow's name. In the chaos that followed no one saw where the arrow had landed but the Huntsman moved through the crowd with determination as a troop of Regina's knights came bursting through the woods. The wolves scattered, the dwarves grabbed Snow and ran before she could be caught, screaming out her friend's name in horrified panic. As the field emptied Red swayed on her feet and looked down at the blood pooling through her fingers.

"Graham?" she whispered as he suddenly appeared at her side and caught her in his arms as she fell. The arrow was embedded in her side and she was bleeding heavily but he had missed her heart. Her face grew pale and her eyes rolled back in her face as the silver stopped her ability to heal. Graham blinked suddenly, the cruel smile on his lips dropping like a rock as he stared in horror at the dying woman in his lap. As the guards approached them he lifted his head and gazed with such feral hate that a knight crept up behind his back and knocked him out with the hilt of his sword.

* * *

**_a.n:_ **

_Sorry cliffhanger!_


End file.
